PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK: Coach says new captains earned stripes

Glen Farley The Enterprise @GFarley_ent

Tuesday

Sep 12, 2017 at 12:49 AMSep 12, 2017 at 12:55 AM

Bill Belichick says first-time team captains David Andrews and Duron Harmon 'add a good element' to the group. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Dont'a Hightower, Devin McCourty and Matthew Slater are holdovers in that role.

FOXBORO – The coach says the team’s two new captains have earned their stripes.

In addition to quarterback Tom Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski, linebacker Dont’a Hightower, safety Devin McCourty and special teamer Matthew Slater – all of whom have served in the role before – center David Andrews and safety Duron Harmon were recently named captains of the Patriots for the first time in their careers.

Andrews is in just his third year with the Patriots, while Harmon is in his fifth.

“It’s good to have a youthful layer of leadership in that group,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said on Monday. “Some of those players, Tom and Matt, Devin, have been captains for a long time. Rob and ‘High’ both have a lot of experience. David and Duron add a good element to the group, and an important one.

“We’ve had some young captains on the team in the past, like Devin and Jerod (Mayo), so I think it’s good to see those guys. It’s good for those guys to be there in the meetings in that position with some of our other very good and experienced veteran leaders. There’s an element of transition and learning from experienced players there that’s beneficial to everybody. Not just the young players, but it’s beneficial to the more experienced captains and myself.”

Brady is a 16-time Patriots captain, having been elected to the position by his teammates each season since 2002. McCourty and Slater have been captains since 2011, while Gronkowski and Hightower both served in that role for the first time last year.

Homecoming for Foster?: In need of a running back after losing David Johnson to a wrist injury in their 35-23 season-opening loss to Detroit, the Arizona Cardinals will reportedly sign D.J. Foster off the Patriots’ practice squad.

Foster played his college ball at Arizona State University and hails from Scottsdale.

“I’m definitely excited for him,” fellow running back James White said. “He’s a good football player. He had a great preseason. Well deserved.”

The sod squad: The Patriots are already replacing the FieldTurf at Gillette Stadium that was just laid down in May.

The last two football games at Gillette – their 40-38 preseason-ending loss to the New York Giants on Aug. 31 and their 42-27 regular season-opening setback to the Kansas City Chiefs – saw the Patriots’ Cyrus Jones and KC’s Eric Berry suffer serious injuries.

The next game at the stadium isn’t slated to take place until Sept. 23 when the Revolution host Toronto FC in MLS play.

The Patriots, who are at New Orleans this Sunday, aren’t scheduled to play at home again until Sept. 24.

“A lot softer, a lot of little black pebbles and everything, a little sand,” White said of the turf that’s being replaced. “But, hey, what can you do.”